19 States Sue Trump Admin Over $100,000 H-1B Fee: Why It's "Unlawful"

In a press release issued by the Oregon Department of Justice on Friday, Attorney General Rayfield said the fee would create an insurmountable financial barrier for employers, particularly public-sector and government institutions, seeking to hire highly skilled foreign workers such as physicians, researchers, nurses, and educators.

"Oregon's colleges, universities and research institutions rely on skilled international workers to keep labs running, courses on track and innovation moving forward," Rayfield said.

"This enormous fee would make it nearly impossible for these institutions to hire the experts they need, and it goes far beyond what Congress ever intended," he added.

The lawsuit alleges that the policy, implemented by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), violates federal law by imposing a massive fee not authorised by Congress, bypassing required rulemaking procedures, and exceeding executive authority under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

The coalition also raised concerns that the policy grants the Secretary of Homeland Security broad discretion to determine which petitions are subject to the fee or exempt from it, potentially enabling selective enforcement.

According to the proclamation issued by US President Donald Trump on September 19, there will now be a USD 100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications.

According to the US State Department, the new fee requirement applies only to individuals or companies filing new H-1B petitions or entering the H-1B lottery after September 21.

Current visa holders and petitions submitted before that date remain unaffected. Under the proclamation, a USD 100,000 fee must accompany every new H-1B visa petition filed after the deadline, including those submitted for entry into the 2026 lottery.

The lawsuit issued challenged this very proclamation issued by the Trump administration.

Under the H-1B visa programme, US employers can temporarily hire highly skilled foreign workers in speciality occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree.

Congress caps most private-sector H-1B visas at 65,000 annually, with an additional 20,000 reserved for individuals holding a master's degree or higher.

The attorneys general argue that the fee far exceeds the typical H-1B filing costs, which usually range from USD 960 to USD 7,595, and is not tied to the actual cost of processing petitions, as required by law.

They also contend the administration failed to conduct the mandatory notice-and-comment process before implementing the policy.

"By imposing this fee, the Administration is exceeding the fee-setting authority granted by Congress, which requires that fees be set based on the agency's costs, rather than arbitrarily. Additionally, the Trump Administration issued the fee without going through the notice-and-comment process required by the APA and without considering the full range of impacts - especially on the provision of the critical services by government and nonprofit entities," the release stated.

Highlighting the impact on higher education, the lawsuit notes that Oregon State University currently sponsors over 150 H-1B faculty, researchers and staff, while the University of Oregon sponsors more than 50.

Both institutions rely heavily on the programme to fill critical roles, and the increased fee threatens to leave positions vacant, undermining education, research and public service missions.

According to the release, Attorney General Rayfield from Oregon is joined in the lawsuit by his counterparts from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

- ANI